Use the Engagement Methods Tool to find the right tool for your community and stakeholder engagement project.
The Full Circle method is a highly participatory engagement approach designed to generate ideas, explore perspectives, and deepen collective understanding. It works by dividing participants into small groups who rotate through a series of “stations,” each featuring a different topic or question. At each station, the group reviews what earlier groups have written or created […]
A Socratic Circle (or Socratic Seminar) is a dialogue-based method that encourages participants to engage deeply with a topic by discussing a shared question, text, or idea. Rooted in the Socratic tradition of inquiry and reflection, this method focuses on thoughtful dialogue, active listening, and respectful challenge rather than debate or persuasion. Often used in […]
Social networking site based on users’ professional expertise.
A Referendum is a formal, structured process that enables eligible voters to make a binding decision on a specific issue — typically by casting a “yes” or “no” vote. Most commonly used in constitutional or high-level policy matters, referenda are administered by electoral commissions and involve strict legal and procedural frameworks. In a local government […]
Pop-Ups are short-term, mobile engagement activations set up in busy community locations like markets, shopping centres, festivals, or public transport hubs. These highly visible and accessible stalls or booths are designed to catch people “where they already are,” offering simple and engaging opportunities to learn about an issue and provide quick input — often through […]
Participatory Arts is an expressive engagement method that invites people to explore and share ideas, experiences, or community issues through creative mediums such as visual art, music, performance, storytelling, or multimedia. Led by artists or cultural facilitators, participants co-create artworks that reflect their identities, hopes, or concerns, often culminating in a public exhibition or performance. […]
Live Polling is an interactive method used to gather real-time feedback from participants during a meeting, event, or online session. Using tools like Slido, Mentimeter, or Poll Everywhere, facilitators can pose multiple choice questions, word clouds, or open text prompts, with results visible instantly on a shared screen. Live polling energises sessions, boosts participation, and […]
Kitchen Table Conversations are informal, small-group discussions held in relaxed settings — often around someone’s kitchen table, at a local café, or even virtually. These conversations are typically led by trusted community members (hosts), who invite a small group of peers to explore a particular issue using a prepared set of prompts or questions. This […]
A Hackathon is a short, high-energy event where diverse participants — such as designers, community members, developers, policy thinkers or creatives — come together to rapidly develop solutions to a specific challenge. Traditionally associated with technology or innovation, hackathons are increasingly used in community engagement to prototype new ideas for civic issues, policy design, or […]
Graphic Facilitation is a visual engagement technique where a trained facilitator captures key ideas, conversations, and themes in real-time using drawings, symbols, and words. This can occur on large sheets of paper, whiteboards, or digital tablets. It is used during meetings, workshops, or forums to enhance understanding, create shared meaning, and support memory retention. This […]
Community Working Groups are small, focused groups of community members brought together to provide input, advice, or co-design support on a specific project or issue. Often established by councils, agencies, or community organisations, these groups operate over a defined time period and are guided by clear terms of reference. They allow for in-depth dialogue and […]
Community Organising is a long-term approach to civic participation that focuses on building the leadership, relationships, and collective power of everyday people to address issues that affect their lives. It typically involves identifying local leaders, building networks of trust, mapping shared concerns, and developing strategies for action. Unlike one-off consultations, community organising is deeply relational […]
Collective Action refers to coordinated efforts by a group of people working together to address a shared issue or pursue a common goal. It is often grassroots in nature and may involve community-led campaigns, rallies, clean-up days, public art projects, or advocacy initiatives. The power of collective action lies in its ability to mobilise people […]
Collaborative governance is a participatory approach to decision-making and problem-solving that brings together stakeholders from various sectors—government, private, non-profit, and community groups—to address complex societal challenges or achieve shared goals. This model emphasises inclusivity, transparency, and consensus-building to foster sustainable solutions and improve public outcomes. Key Features of Collaborative Governance Multi-Sector Engagement: It involves collaboration […]
A Citizen Assembly is a deliberative engagement method that brings together a representative group of everyday people to learn about, discuss, and provide recommendations on a specific public issue. Participants are often selected randomly to reflect the demographics of the community, such as age, gender, location, and background. Over a series of facilitated sessions, participants […]
The hui is a sophisticated New Zealand Māori tradition that involves bringing people together for a specific purpose or take (cause for gathering). (O’Sullivan and Mills, 2009)
Talanoa is a conversational process used daily by Pasifika peoples and involves sharing of stories and development of knowledge. Talanoa can be used to engage Pasifika participants in a community-based action research process to explore their lived experiences.
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) also known as Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is a systematic method for evaluating and comparing alternatives based on multiple, often conflicting, criteria, helping decision makers choose the best option. The aim is to allow groups to determine and agree on a set of criteria and weightings to apply to their decision […]
An interview technique to intercepts members of the public, often on the street’ and asking for their opinion on a topic.
A bundle of mini methods that support groups work towards long-term strategic thinking and problem solving.
Dotmocracy, also known as dot-voting or idea rating, is a method for group prioritisation to help progress ideas or action.
Voting on a series of options.
Storytelling helps people make sense of the world and engage with each other on a different level.
Online forum where invited or self-selected participants contribute to an online discussion about a topic or project for a set period of time.
Can be designed to inform, seek feedback, to gather ideas, and to update the community on the engagement project and how community input/feedback has been taken into consideration.
Interactive computer application designed for smartphones, mobile devices and computer tablets.
Development of online or non-digital games which participants play to solve problems and accomplish tasks.
Structured process where a panel of experts answer a series of questionnaires (at least two rounds). After each survey, a feedback report and a new survey is circulated. Designed to seek consensus on a complex problem.
An exploratory, facilitated group method where participants are asked to close their eyes and visualise what their community looks like now and in the future. Uses visualisation and dialogue and may be extended to include creative arts activities.
A structured group of community or stakeholder representatives that meet regularly and operate under a Terms of Reference. Can vary from members providing their own feedback or ideas, to members acting as a conduit between the broader community and organisation.
Research involving a community of practice trying to solve a problem through action. Communities act as “co-researchers”.
Deliberation and decision making is undertaken by decision makers in view of the public, such as in a public gallery or by video streaming, to enhance transparency and accountability.
Open, hosted conversations set in cafes or other places where community members would ordinarily gather.
A website where content is not owned by a specific person or organisation, but is created, deleted or modified by members of the public.
A structured process to host a conversation with community or stakeholder representatives. Includes a series of questions that are objective, then reflective, interpretive and decisional.
A small group discussion hosted by a facilitator about a focussed topic.
A structured process where participants discuss a question or series of questions at a group of small tables.
Community and stakeholders are invited to tour a site to gain a deeper understanding or to gain first-hand experience.
A series of questions provided to a sample which may be a representative sample or a self-selected sample.
A structured process where randomly-selected participants explore and deliberate on a topic at a meeting over 2 to 3 days and then their opinions are polled. Results of the poll are shared with the group and publicly. Can include a pre-poll, as well as additional polling that occurs after the engagement activity.
A meeting organised by either the organisation or community with presentations and questions asked by the crowd.
Small groups of people (usually between 5 and 20) who meet multiple times to explore an issue.
A method for hosting a meeting, conference or summit which is focused on a particular purpose or topic, but which has no formal agenda set.
A form of discussion where participants agree to suspend judgments to fully explore a question and seek shared meaning.
A structured method to explore specific, complex issues, and where participants work in small groups.
Used for planning local areas, a design charette is a multi-disciplinary design workshop held over 3-4 days, involving stakeholders, the project team, planning and design professionals, technical experts and sometimes community members.
Presentations and discussions with community or stakeholder groups. Can vary widely from informing to gathering feedback, ideas or options.
Process where the community works with an organisation through its budgeting process.
Community members gather and share photos that represent their ideas or preferences for the future. Can be incorporated into face-to-face engagement events, or collected and shared online.
Capturing participants ideas, expressions and discussions in real-time during an engagement activity, to create a visual representation of the discussions.
Citizens edit and shape documents and reports through a series of circulating documents.
A highly-structured method involving a representative jury or panel of non-expert citizens who deliberate during a chaired public hearing held over 2-4 days where they hear evidence from a range of different experts. Jury members decide who to call in as expert witnesses. Participants make recommendations or decisions.
A leaderless meeting where participants take a seat in a central circle to discuss a topic or question, that is controversial. Those watching follow a structured process to enter into the circle of discussion. Designed to voice multiple perspectives.
A representative sample of citizens are randomly selected to form a citizen’s jury which deliberates on a problem or opportunity. The jury hears evidence from witnesses, in front of a public gallery, before adjourning to deliberate and make a recommendation or decision.
Participants individually write their ideas, concerns, issues on cards. These are shared in small groups then categorised by the whole group.
A structured process for decision making that focuses on building on strengths (“what works well”), rather than focusing on problems and limitations.
A group activity to identify and then prioritise issues, concerns or ideas.
Consumers and users work works with designers to codesign products, services or processes
